Monday, August 22, 2016

Icons of Lingusia in the Age of Strife (13th Age)

Have I published this on the blog before? No idea....but since we're kicking off a new campaign in 13th Age this week, seems like a good idea for a review....

The Age of Strife in One Paragraph

The world of
Lingusia is defined by the events of a central domain known as the
Middle-Kingdoms, a swathe of territory which grew up in ancient times around a
fabled City of the Gods. The gods had a terrible war and slew their mortal
forms two thousand years ago, and out of the ashes of this time grew Hyrkania,
a great empire. Around Hyrkania lie many lesser polities vying for survival. In
the modern era, the year 2,090 Hyrkania has just survived a civil war which
nearly tore it apart. The adventurers of this era are largely survivors of that
war, soldiers or refugees who witnessed terrifying atrocities as an age-old
conflict between Order and Chaos flared up. Into this world stride men and
women willing to sieze the chance for power, glory and riches.

The Icons of the Middle Kingdoms in the Age
of Strife

The Archmage– Lord Warenis(Heroic – LG)

The immortal
champion of order, Lord Warenis works behind the scenes in this era to thwart
the machinations of Xauraun, the Crusader. Warenis recruits from the likely
heroes of the land to send them out against the diabolical forces of his
nemesis. Warenis’s aims are singular: stop the Crusdaer, save the empire.

If you serve the Archmage: You are
likely a scholar, mage or dedicate to lore who understands the true nature of
the eternal conflict and why it is so important that the gods of chaos do not
win. You may belong to the Esoteric Order of Hodon Systalien, one of the most
dedicated servants to the archmage, or you may be an independent operator.

The Emperor– Anton Patraeus (Heroic – LN)

Anton
Patraeus is a great leader of men who has struggled against the civil war that
the War of Strife became, as well as the army of demons his enemies conjured
up. He holds the empire together against great adversity and needs agents
abroad to do his bidding.

If you serve the Emperor: You are
either a vigilant solarian knight, a member of the Shadow Watch, an envoy or
agent of the emperor who seeks out trouble in the land to quell it, or to hunt
down the enemies of the empire.

The Crusader– Xauraun Vestillios (Villanous – CE)

Xauraun
Vestillios is the immortal champion of chaos, who seeks to bring down the era
of man and disembowel the worship of the pantheon of order. He commands
ferocious armies of monsters and demons to this end, as well as the loyalty of
the human subjects who seek to gain power in his era of rule. The Crusader is
always interested in new agents and minions to sew strife.

If you serve the Crusader: You are one
who is comfortable in the company of fiends, possible one of the Order of the
Ten Circles (the Divinate, in its public guise) or even one of the league of
assassins that seek out those who would oppose the Crusader to lay them low.
You could be of orcish or demonic descent, feeling the compulsion to serve the
immortal chaos lord, or you are a man or elf who desires power at any cost.

The Lich King– Laikhanamen (Ambiguous– TN)

The Lich
King was once the greatest wizard of the realm but fell to the passions of the
Unseelie Queen centuries ago, such that he was driven to seek out immortality
that he would be “alive” for the time of her mortal return to the world. That
time is now, and the Lich King is as much a pawn to the Unseelie Queen as he is
an agent of his own necromantic self interest in the current era. The lich king
has little interest in the current field of politics, but craves power and the
expansion of his personal empire of undeath.

If you serve the Lich King: you are
either obsessed with death or the darker passions of the soul and admire the
Lich King for what he offers….or you are a poduct of necromancy, doomed to obey
him forever more.

The High Druid – Zama (Ambiguous TN)

Zama was an
elder druid who became hierophant during the last great war against the
Crusader a century earlier. The war devastated his homeland in the Niras
Forest, and motivated the druids of Niras to grow wary of outsiders and the
threats they pose. Today, Zama’s influence as grand hierophant of his order is
to create a sense of seclusion and remoteness in the forestlands of his
dominion, and he relies on his agents to insure that any threat to the
wellspring of the forest, which is the very embodiment of the god Niras’s
spirit, be protected from outsiders.

If you serve the High Druid: you are a
druid yourself, or a simple elf, gnome or other denizen of the Niras Forest,
who has felt the calling of the High Druid or the spirit of the woods and felt
a need to protect the land from those who would ravage it. You might be a
ranger or other agent of the Knights of Kom’Huandyr, a dedicated order of
rangers in the woods who seek to defend the realm of the empire and
specifically the province of Niras which encompasses all of the woods from
outside invaders.

The Diabolist– Tyriandras Gonn Holivarnen (Villanous – LE)

The dark
sorceress of Hyrkania is a shadowy entity, known by name only to her inner
cabal. She has an obsessive and seemingly one-sided alliance with the Crusader
Xauraun, and works her own schemes to bring Hyrkania to its knees. She believes
that conquering the empire will be sufficient to catch Xauraun’s attention.

If you serve the Diabolist: you are a
cutting edge agent of evil and you can see the opportunity to both gain power
in the Diabolist’s imagined future empire as well as ready yourself for the
embrace of chaos.

The Unseelie Queen– Corrigan (Ambiguous – CN)

Corrigan was
believed to be destined for resurrection by her elite cabal of unseelie elven
knights, but it was in fact the schemes of her paramour, the Lich King, that
allowed her to be reborn. Corrigan walks the land again, a dangerous threat as
she weaves her enchantments to lure dark elves and vile feykin into her web of
control. She is barred from entry into the heart of the Weirding by the Court
of Titania, and her unseelie agents are left deep in the mirelands and the
briars of the outer Arboreal darkness, where the feywild touches the
shadowfell.

If you serve the Unseelie Queen: you
felt the call and your fey blood could not resist. If you are no fey, then you
are attracted to what she stands for, the liberation of the spirit from the
rules of the world. The unseelie queen is a mysterious force in the age of
strife but she stands against both order and chaos.

The Elf Queen– Mithrielle (Ambiguous – NG)

Mithrielle
rules Sylvias in the south and seeks to make her empire strong against the many
forces of evil and chaos in the world. She is half-sister to the empress
Phyxillus, but feels an unreasonable level of rivalry for her successful
half-sister in the north. Under Mithrielle the elves have attained great power,
but their enmity toward other lesser races is at an all time high. Actions in
the name of the Elf Queen are to secure of the elven empire and its many
outlying tribes and cities in the world, even at the expense of the lesser
races.

If you serve the Elf Queen: you stand
not only against the enemies of the elvish kingdom, but against those who would
seek to destroy the venerable lineage of the world itself in the name of power.
You are likely either a selenic knight in the elven courts, a preservationist
working in secret in foreign lands against the enemies of elvenkind, or a
huntsman knight on the frontiers of Sylvias defending the outlying cities and
tribes of all elves, both silver and wood.

The Betrayer King (Orc King)– King Makhorven (Villainous – NE)

Rumors that Makhorven
has orcish blood in his lineage are true, and it explains his grim, bestial
visage and complexion. Makhorven is a power even while imprisoned in the vast
dungeon complex between the city of Hyrendan, for the Order of the Red Robes
insures he remains carefully protected and fed, and his network of spies and
agents functions throughout the land. The Emperor’s unwillingness to execute
Makhorven is still a mystery to many (though there is an ugly rumor of some
sort of familial relation) though just as many suspect that Makhorven’s
followers would never allow his death to pass. Makhorven is allied with the cults
of the chaos gods, but he plays by his own rules and for his own gain.

If you serve the Betrayer King: you
work from the shadows, relying on physical force or magic as necessary to undo
the empire from within. Though your liege suffered a great defeat, support is
as strong as ever, just fluid like water so that the anvil of the empire cannot
find you. You serve either the Black Circle, the Order of the Red Robes or the
Divinate as an agent of chaos and change.

The Serpent– Saurpikan (Villanous – LE)

The Grant
Imperator of the serpent men empire of Hazer-Phennis serves exclusively the
will of the dark god Set and his devilish minions, who spread like a cancer
throughout the underworld. The rumors that the serpent men walk among humans
and elves in magical disguise to sew discord are likely entirely true.

If you serve The Serpent: few who do
not have serpent blood serve The Serpent, but they exist. The Serpent is the
emobodiment of his people and his vile god, who seeks to subjugate the world to
his rule. Following the Serpent means betraying your people for a piece of that
pie, or it means being one of the pureblooded, the humanoids who have a trace
of ancient serpent ancestry within their veins.

The Great Gold Wyrm – Drakon Shaikor
(Ambiguous – CG)

The great
gold wyrm of this era is Drakon Shaikor, the most powerful of the gold dragons
of the eastern clans. His influence is deep among dragonkind, and many say he
has the ear of the Council of Wyrms itself, a secret society of the eldest
dragons in the world who still remain free of the controlling machinations of
the Wyrmlords. As may be expected, Shaikor and his allies revere Bahamut first
and foremost.

If you serve the Great Gold Wyrm:
dragons alone do not serve the Great Gold Wyrm. Wizened sages, sorcerers who
envy the gold’s power, dragonborn who wish to ally themselves with the agents
of Bahamut and others will readily offer fealty to the Great Gold Wyrm.

The Wyrmlords (The Three)– the elder dragons lords of the Dragon
Mother’s Brood (Villanous – CE)

The Wyrmlords
of the brood follow the Green Mother as they refer to her, a great chromatic
beast to the north who dwells in the heart of the Northern Wilderness, giving
birth to a new generation of the great dragonflight. The Green Mother’s Brood
consists of her hand-picked finest brothers, sisters and those males who court
the Green Mother. She sends them out to do her bidding. Rumors are that the
Green Mother has determined to awaken the sleeping Tiamat to restore dragonkind
to greatness once more.

If you serve the Wyrmlords: there are
many dragonborn who ally themselves with the Wyrmlords, and as many other races
who envy the power of the dragons who know how to use it. The Wyrlmords are
crafty manipulators and they seed their dark interests throughout the Middle
Kingdoms and beyond, but they need even craftier agents to carry out their
agenda of dragon superiority.

The Prince of Shadows – Wormie Vellsoth
(Ambiguous – CG)

The
enigmatic guild master of the Black Lotus gang and avatar of the the god Hermes
is the undisputed shadow prince of the Age of Strife era. Wormie as his friends
call him (because his enemies are all dead, as he says) is a wood elf of
roughly two centuries in age who has become the master of secret lore and
information in the land, and his agents are tasked with gathering such esoteric
knowledge to greater purpose. Despite his nature as a thief and grafter, Wormie
uses his agents to further the interests of the pantheons of order and death
over chaos; there is no profit in chaos.

If you serve the Prince of Shadows: you
are one of the thieves, burglars, scoundrels and grifters of the world with a
heart of gold, looking to your local thieve’s guild or possibly even THE
thieve’s guild of the Prince of Shadows himself, the legendary Black Lotus
Guild. From there you have earned enough trust and cred to find your services
as a gatherer of information and protector of the civilized world to be useful
to your liege.

The Assassin- Celiobantes Astiriate (Ambiguous – NE)

In many ways
Celiobantes Astiriate is like Wormie, though the two are unrelated. Clawing his
way up through the ranks of the Fire Knives, Celiobantes is a master of
assassins and chief high priest of the assassin god Haro. Like the Black Lotus,
the Fire Knives still commit to a dedication to order, albeit through murder as
a tool of conflict resolution. The Fire Knives are usually regarded as agents
of chaos by most…and they have been known to side with cultists of chaos, which
their dark god is ostensibly one of, but true scholars of Haro know that the
god considers himself above the petty cliques of the pantheons.

If you serve the Assassin: a few
independent operators exist who worship Haro, but universally if you serve the
Assassin then you belong to the Fire Knives. The Fire Knives are expansive,
with tendrils stretching across two continents and even into the Planar Realms,
conducting murder in the name of their vile god. So if you hold this icon as
your liege, then you must of necessity be proficient at murder most foul.

The Priestess– The Sacrimori Setianne (Heroic – LG)

Setianne is
the young, new high priestess of the Temple of Naril and the voice of all faith
in the empire of Hyrkania. Setianne carries a great influence on the land, and
is noted for her caring nature but her willingness to use the force of her two
dedicated paladin orders (the Solarians and the Ebon Ankh) to enforce the will
of Naril. She is singularly dedicated to stamping out all worship of the chaos
gods.

If you serve the Priestess: you are a
true champion of Naril and the empire, seeking to better humankind and his
allies against the tide of chaos. You likely are a priest, scholar or advocate
for the church, or a paladin or fighter who has taken up arms and joined the
solarian knights. Inquisitors wield magic to root out evil and destroy the
demons of chaos at the behest of the Priestess as well.

The Dwarf King– King Madragor, Iron King of the South (Heroic – LN)

Madragor is
also a young king a dwarves go, for his father was slain during the War of Strife
when the forces of the Black Tower invaded the Iron Mountain strongholds.
Madragor has sworn an oath of allegiance to the Emperor, and there are stories
of how Madragor adventured with the emperor many years ago. He also seems to be
especially fond of the Elf Queen, though the favor is not returned. Madragor’s
interests are in eliminating all threats to his people, though the Iron Dwarves
of his land are friendlier to the human empire.

If you serve the Dwarf King: you look
out for your sovereign allies, but the dwarves come first. From the Deep
Company, dwarves who stand against the terrors of the lower depths, to the army
of the Iron Fist, the greatest general in the mountains to serve the king you
are all about dwarven superiority and the destruction of those races and faiths
which stand against your people. If you are not a dwarf, you are a sympathizer
or one who has become enamored with the dedicated passion of dwarvenkind and
seek to aid them in any way you can.

More about the Icons

The world of
Lingusia is too large to have just a baker ’s dozen icons…and as such, while
some icons may cast a wide net of influence, many of them are localized to
their region of the world. The icons of the east are another set entirely, and
the icons of the north are an enigmatic lot who greatly dislike the icons of
the Middle Kingdoms. Only a few tend to be universal….the Archmage and the
Crusader are known across the world for their endless conflict, for example, as
is the Great Gold Wyrm who seeks the unification of dragonkind against the
machinations of the Wyrmlords, who manipulate the elder brood queen to produce
more chromatic spawn.

Some icons
of cosmic note are not present in this era. There is no orc king, for example,
and the orcs are but beastly tribes serving whatever lord of chaos happens
their way in this era; but the Betrayer King fits the role nicely, and happens
to be a half-orc, too. The Prince of Shadows is the avatar Wormie Vellsoth, who
has taken on the mantle unwittingly from the former icon Tanis of an older era.
Wormie has much to contend with in the form of The Assassin, the Fire Knife
Celiobantes Astiriate, who has risen to great power as the lord of the most
formidable guild of assassins in the Middle Kingdoms, one which will one day
come to be feared even by the gods themselves.

The important thing is that in a million years, when the brain-worms of Arcturus IX have annihilated us throughout the galaxy, there will be no surviving recordings of blogs to be found by the cephalopods that evolve to replace us. In this way will their civilization advance and prosper.